No Democrats are winning races in the Tri-Cities. They think that will change

The polls closed at 8 p.m. Tuesday, but more than 100 Benton County residents still had yet to make sure their voice was heard in what’s going down as a historic election.

Those who arrived before closing time to join the line, which stretched down the sidewalk away from the Benton County Voting Center, were given numbers by election officials while they waited to get inside the Columbia Center Boulevard building.

It was after 9 p.m. when the last ballot was cast.

“I got off work late, but I know every vote counts,” Geo Rivera told the Tri-City Herald. The 19-year-old was voting in his first presidential election. “So if I’m the last one in line, so be it.”

Votes like Rivera’s will continue to be counted over the coming days as officials work their way through the high number of ballots returned for this general election.

Benton County reported a return rate of 76 percent by Wednesday morning, according to the Washington Secretary of State’s website. That means about 95,500 people out of the 126,100 registered voters.

Franklin County is showing about 30,100 votes cast for a 72-percent return. The number of registered voters is nearly 41,900.

Adams and Yakima counties are showing the lowest ballot returns, both at 64 percent. Statewide, the total is 77 percent.

The election results will be certified Nov. 24.

Benton County Auditor Brenda Chilton projects having another 25,000 ballots to count.

Chilton said they helped 1,700 people at the voting center, including registering 274 new voters. Those numbers were about three times what the county had in 2016, she said.

The auditor’s office plans to keep the voting center open for at least the next two years, mainly because officials don’t know how long COVID-19 will continue to affect the county.

Women, Democrats

State Rep. Mary Dye, a Pomeroy Republican in the 9th District, was the only woman to be elected Tuesday in the Mid-Columbia region. While she is an incumbent, the female challengers in other local races all trailed male candidates.

Fundraising records and race results showed Democratic candidates in the Tri-Cities put up a good fight, but none were close to capturing the lead.

However, Jeffrey Robinson, chair of the Franklin County Democrats, was very happy with the results and remains optimistic for the party’s future in the conservative stronghold.

Robinson is not yet giving up on Democrat Kim Lehrman’s attempt to unseat Franklin County Commissioner Brad Peck, and Danielle Garbe Reser’s push for the Washington state Senate seat in District 16.

“Franklin County has shown that it is starting to shift toward the Democrats,” Robinson said. “There does seem to be a clear shift.”

Robinson explained that the results came even as COVID-19 prevented political candidates from going door-to-door or holding large in-person campaign events.

He said the Democratic party had two strong candidates for county office since 2004 in Lehrman and Ana Ruiz Peralta, who was running for Commission Chairman Bob Koch’s open seat.

This shift is encouraging more Democrats to run, said Robinson, who already has people lined up for 2022.

“That never used to happen. There has been a drought in the Democratic Party in Franklin County,” he said.

Robinson made the bold prediction that Franklin County will be a majority Democratic voting county by 2024. He believes the way to sell the party is to target the people who feel they aren’t represented in the current government.

In general, the election turnout shows that this year was good for democracy, he said.

“I couldn’t be prouder of Franklin County because I’ve had more people ask me about how county government works than every before,” said Robinson. “I think we’re waking up to the fact that this county commission should be getting a lot more attention than it’s getting.”

Diverse voices

Lehrman told the Herald there are a lot of ballots still out to be counted, and she is cautiously optimistic that the results may swing in her favor.

She is hoping the message gets through that people are tired of the in-fighting among the commissioners and want the board members to work together to find solutions.

Lehrman said people are starting to recognize the value of having diverse voices, and the opportunity for the Democratic Party to grow in Franklin County is there.

“I encourage future candidates to be brave ... and to step forward,” she said “I can’t be any more proud of my grassroots campaign. It’s made up of big-hearted individuals that were willing to put in the time. We had about 163 volunteers for our get-out-the-vote campaign.”

Lehrman also had first-time voters and parents of former students who joined her.

“The foundation of hope is building and growing in our county and that hope is including all voices in our county and having a more transparent and collaborative Franklin County government,” she said.

In Benton County, Democrat Justin Raffa raised more than all three Republicans in the two commissioner races, yet he still was defeated by two-term incumbent Jerome Delvin.

Raffa said he was disappointed about the results and had hoped to see a closer race.

“When I declared my candidacy in May, I was aware it was an uphill battle,” he said.

He was encouraged by the support he did receive. Several prominent Republicans stepped up to support Raffa over Delvin.

While he couldn’t speak to the party in general, Raffa told the Herald he was encouraged by the strength of the candidates in the local races. He is hopeful that his run will encourage other Democrats and show people they “don’t have to fit a certain demographic” to run for office.

“I’m hopeful that we will continue to have quality candidates,” said Raffa, “and the presence of the Democratic Party in our region will help us achieve this balance that we strive for as part of a democracy in America.”

This story was originally published November 4, 2020 at 2:51 PM.